4 May 1 - 7, 2025 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents Spicy Spot Zoning Pepper Square opposition sues Dallas. BY EMMA RUBY L ess than a month has passed since the Dallas City Council voted to approve rezoning North Dallas’ Pepper Square shopping center to allow for a controversial mixed-use development. Some of those op- posed to the plan are already finding ave- nues to attempt to stall the project. The Save Pepper Square Neighborhood Coalition filed a lawsuit against the city of Dallas and Henry S. Miller Companies, the group leading the Pepper Square redevelop- ment. The March City Council vote cleared the way for around 870 housing units, green space and revamped retail storefronts to be built on the Pepper Square property, which is located at the intersection of Belt Line Road and Preston Road. The lawsuit, first reported on by Candy’s Dirt, accuses the City Council of spot zoning and failing to follow the land use guidelines adopted last fall in the Forward Dallas 2.0 plan. Spot zoning, which is illegal in Texas, refers to the practice of zoning a single tract of land in a way that is inconsistent or in- compatible with the surrounding area, and it generally benefits a single property owner. “We’d done prior legal analysis before [the March 26 council meeting where Pep- per Square was approved], but once they made that decision, the claim became ripe to assert that this zoning is pretty inconsistent with what was previously zoned,” Austin Smith, the Dallas attorney representing the plaintiffs, told the Observer. “Our position is that the city of Dallas and the City Council’s decisions just didn’t seem to be in line with the criteria they’re supposed to follow.” The map of land use place types across the city approved with Forward Dallas labels Pepper Square “Community Mixed-Use,” which, according to the plan, are plats of land “located at major intersections and along key corridors, serving multiple sur- rounding neighborhoods.” Two of the areas bordering Pepper Square are also labeled as community mixed-use. Because of Pepper Square’s proximity to single-family neighborhoods, the lawsuit claims the area’s zoning should have been considered through the lens of the place type’s suburban definition, which calls for larger complexes, often with fewer stories that offer “a large amount of retail, restau- rants and personal services.” Neighbors op- posed to the Pepper Square redevelopment have railed against the proposed height for the plan’s residential building from the be- ginning. In the March City Council meeting, the horseshoe approved a maximum height of 165 feet, around 11 stories. The lawsuit cites comments made by council member Paul Ridley, one of the four council members who voted against the Pepper Square rezoning, as further evidence of the plan’s incompatibility with Forward Dallas 2.0. Ridley argued that the plan failed to balance the retail and residential uses called for in the community mixed-use place type, and further “lacked the creativity and meaningful design that could maximize the site’s potential as a mixed-use hub.” City representatives did not respond to the Observer’s request for comment on the lawsuit. In a statement to Candy’s Dirt, Henry S. Miller Companies President and CEO Greg Miller reiterated his confidence in the redevelopment plan. “Dallas City Council passed the rezoning after a full public process. The city followed a multi-year zoning review process, includ- ing traffic impact analysis studies and public hearings,” Miller said. “We are hopeful that we will prevail and proceed with delivering an exciting new mixed-use development for the neighborhood to enjoy.” This is not the first time the project’s op- ponents have sought legal avenues to stall the development. Last October, the Save Pepper Square Neighborhood Association filed a lawsuit claiming that Dallas officials had failed to provide proper notice for the zoning case, a claim that Judge Martin Hoff- man of the 68th District Court ultimately agreed with, resulting in a multi-month de- lay in the plan’s advancement through city channels. In the March meeting, a represen- tative for the developer showed the council dozens of images documenting that proper sign notifications had been in place on the property every day since the ruling. Smith, the attorney representing the Save Pepper Square Neighborhood Coalition, said a hearing on that plea was scheduled for Fri- day of this week, although it now appears to be a “moot” point irrelevant to the new com- plaint. He believes the new case should move through the courts “relatively fast through the summer.” The lawsuit seeks a temporary restraining order that would last 14 days and ultimately allow a judge to consider placing a permanent injunction on the site. “We’re asking for the city not to be able to issue permits and certificates of occupancy related to this. It’s in its infancy,” Smith said. “We need a court to make a ruling on a per- manent injunction before [the developer] can or cannot move forward with develop- ing Pepper Square under the zoning ordi- nance that was passed on March 26.” Pepper Square has inspired two years’ worth of baggage between North Dallas neighbors and the city leadership. When the council finally took the issue up last month, multiple members described it as “the most difficult” zoning case they’ve been charged with addressing. In the council chambers, dozens of neighbors wearing yellow “No Pepper Square” shirts voiced their frustra- tion as the rezoning was passed. But Smith emphasized that the lawsuit is not a petty Hail Mary lobbed by disgruntled neighbors. “We’re doing this to make sure that this zone and this property is developed cor- rectly,” Smith said. “Not because there’s any animus towards [Pepper Square].” ▼ HOMELESSNESS A BARRIER TO HOUSING AUDIT FINDS DENTON’S HOMELESS SHELTER, RESPONSE PLAN LACKING. BY SARA BUTTON A recent audit by the city of Denton found that its homelessness re- sponse is severely lacking in several key areas. During the April 15 council work session, City Auditor Madison Rorschach presented the audit findings, while Director of Com- munity Services Jesse Kent presented city staff recommendations. One of the findings that stood out the most was that the Denton Community Shelter, run by local faith-based nonprofit Our Daily Bread, has not been op- erating within the expectations of its con- tract with the city. According to the audit, Our Daily Bread “has not adopted housing-first practices as required by contract and has created a puni- tive punishment system that likely bars more people than necessary from assistance.” As noted in the presentation, suggested housing-first practices include individuals not being required to enter emergency shel- ter as an ”interim step” to access stable housing and that the coordinated entry pro- cess should be used to prioritize individuals for housing. All new shelter guests are re- quired to complete a coordinated entry as- sessment, which places them on the housing priority list. The city audit found that about 25% of guests did not have a completed co- ordinated entry assessment. The report also notes that although some low-barrier practices are in effect, they are not to the extent they should be to meet the contract’s requirements. According to the North Texas Daily, a Denton man who said he has stayed at the shelter since October, told the council he has experienced religious discrimination and retaliation and that “the morning Bible read- ings create a coercive environment.” The shelter uses a lottery system to as- sign guests beds on a one-week basis. This system does not prioritize guests based on health or safety risks; instead, it puts people back into homelessness based on luck. Rorschach shared that 88% of guests who received overnight shelter at Our Daily Bread were exited back into homelessness. The report directly states that only three of the 10 rooms are designated for women, meaning that on some weekdays, women are not able to enter the lottery to receive a bed. Guests enrolled in enhanced shelter are not required to participate in the lottery sys- tem. However, there is no application pro- cess or clear criteria for determining eligibility, which increases the risk of incon- sistent or inequitable treatment. “Guests do not receive dedicated case management work unless they are enrolled in enhanced shelter, meaning only about 11% of overnight guests had a housing placement plan,” Rorshach shared. “[That] took | UNFAIR PARK | Emma Ruby An attorney representing the Save Pepper Square Neighborhood Coalition told the Observer this latest lawsuit was not filed out of any “animus” for the project. >> p6 Adobe Stock According to a recent audit, Denton has not adequately monitored homeless encampments.
